From one band comes another, with a distinct sound, despite having founding members of another band.  Lakeshore manage to bring a sense of nostalgia and melody into their take on metal/metalcore.

For those who haven’t heard of Lakeshore but are fans of heavy music, I would imagine the name Emmure is one that does sound a bit familiar.  Brothers Ben and Jo Lionetti of Lakeshore originally founded Emmure and now have moved on to form Lakeshore bringing in Shawn Adams on vocals and friends Chris Segovia on bass and guitarist Mitch LoBuglio.  For their debut seven song ep 41 the band brought in some heavyweight talent as it was recorded with producer Ken Susi of Unearth and features Karl Shubach of Misery Signals and Jessie Freeland of the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza guesting on the song “Kings”.  This summer Lakeshore will be joining the Warped Tour for some dates in July around the time 41 comes out.

Going into this knowing the Emmure history can certainly set expectations about what is to come but Lakeshore is a different band with a different view on songwriting.  “Heart (To the Fans)” opens up the ep and starts out with a bit of longer intro complete with mysterious ambient music, distorted voices, and some pounding drums that suggest something much heavier is to come.  From the beginning of verse sections, the vocals and structure of the song remind me a bit of the band Blindside, which is a good thing.  Piercing clean vocals, soaring chorus emphasized with screamed vocals, and buzzing guitars that shift into heavy chords are all found here.  In fact, the song does bring back a bit of nostalgia for older, heavy alternative/nu-metal, heavy enough to keep one’s interest but accessible enough for those not metal fans.

“Future” starts out very much softer with acoustic and clean electric guitar before the drums and distortion come in to bring some temporary heaviness before shifting back.  Throughout the song there is the calm alternating with the heavy sections and through it all those same vocals that are perfect for the genre.  With the guitars a bit quieter at times in the song one can more fully appreciate the drumming of Joe LIonetti and bass of Chris Segovia in providing the underlying drive to the songs.

“Taking” provides a short ambient, piano-driven interlude that manages to seem perfectly in place despite the lack of guitars and it leads into “Control” one of the heavier songs on the ep.  The technical guitar work throughout “Control” works really well and again the bass comes through to add some emphasis, especially when the more chugging riff comes in.  From a production standpoint, the sound is very full and rich and emphasizes the  vocal abilities of Shawn Adams without losing the rest of the instruments.

Fans of heavier music will certainly be drawn to “Kings (The Reawakening)” and its driving riff with vocals punctuated by guest screams from  Karl Shubach.  Through it all though is a sense of melody and the soaring vocals that really add that unique touch to the overall sound.  The first single from the band, “History” follows and serves as an “ode to Emmure” according to Ben Lionetti as Ben and Joe address their past and lay out their thoughts for the future, in the end working to craft a song that each listener can apply to their own situations.

Lakeshore have managed to craft an ep that feels both familiar, inspiring nostalgia for bands long lost, while at the same time establishing a sound that sets them apart.  Songs are heavy and yet light and melodic, guitars and drums are loud and driving but turned melodic working with the soaring vocals.  This is one of those albums/ep’s that can catch your ear and take you completely by surprise if you give it a chance.

Rating: 8/10

Written by John Jackson

Tracklist
01. Heart (To the fans)
02. Future
03. Taking…(Interlude)
04. Control
05. Kings (The Reawakening)
06. History
07. Pure//Imagination

Band Members
Shawn Adams – Vocals
Ben Lionetti – Guitar
Mitch LoBuglio – Guitar
Joe Lionetti – Drums
Chris Segovia – Bass

Record Label: Outerloop Group, Aug. 2017

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Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission

Video for ‘Kings (The Reawakening)’

Video for ‘History’